Lake Monroe Wayside Park

This park is an access point to St. John’s River, the longest of its kind in Florida, and I really like how close you can park to the actual launch site. I was able to pull up around 15 feet away from the kayak launching area and get to the water in under 10 minutes! There are a few concrete boat launch ramps and lots of people entering Lake Monroe when I got there. I was able to cross under the bridge and follow the shoreline for a few miles, but next time I plan on heading upstream a bit to check out the more industrial looking area. The best part about this visit was when a two-​foot fish lept out of the water across my bow almost scaring the life out of me. If you are looking to boat or just relax and have some lunch, this park is a versatile multi-​use location that I would recommend.

Bridges
rivers
and
birds
The St. Johns River is the longest river in Florida, covering over 310 miles and winding through lots of small towns, cool lakes and great fishing areas. Even though it is well used by people, access can be difficult at times because of the numerous marshy areas that can make launching a boat very difficult.
Lake Monroe Wayside Park is a small place that allows easy access to the river. It has two nicely paved ramps that can accommodate four boats at once and of course yaks, canoes and smaller craft can be launch from just about anywhere in the park.
The park also has a few nice picnic tables, benches and lots of parking. One of the very cool things about the park is an old swing bridge that is still standing. You can still walk out on the bridge and fish or take a close look at the intricate structure. A few informative plaques are on the bridge explaining how important this early bridge across the river was to the area. Nice that they took the effort to add a little history to an old bridge.
The park is a great place to watch and listen to the river flow by, launch a boat or look for some beautiful birds or lazy alligators. The St. Johns is a lovely and impressive river, it’s great to have parks like this that allow easy access to a wonderful resource.